Chris Hemsworth’s rumored role in the upcoming Furiosa could gift the actor a grittier fight than any of his brawls as Thor in the MCU. Hemsworth may be set to play Dr. Dementus, a character first mentioned in the franchise's 2015 video game. It was revealed in the game that Dementus had been killed by Scrotus, the game’s formidable chainsaw-wielding antagonist. If the film chooses to draw from this source material, the resulting fight could be wilder than any he has appeared in to date, and take his career in a darker, more exciting direction.
In the lore of the franchise, Dementus is the leader of the Biker Horde and an enemy to Immortan Joe, the iconic masked dictator played by Hugh Keays-Byrne in Mad Max: Fury Road. This could set up a spectacular fight between Hemsworth’s Dementus and a younger Immortan Joe. Another tantalizing possibility is that Hemsworth will play the younger version of Immortan Joe himself, though any significant exploration of his origins could result in pulling focus away from Furiosa herself.
In any eventuality, given the PG-13 limitations of the MCU regarding blood and gore, the possibility of a fight scene between Hemsworth’s villain and a rival warlord promises a significant departure for the actor. Indeed, the Mad Max franchise has a reputation for pushing fight scenes to their gruesome limits. Immortan Joe famously has his jaw ripped off by a harpoon caught in the wheels of his own car in Mad Max: Fury Road. This kind of viscera promises a far more gritty offering than Thor's relatively bloodless hammerings and electrocutions. Moreover, despite the obvious achievements of the MCU, much of its action famously takes place against a green screen. Conversely, Mad Max is known for death-defying stunts, as well as a masterful blend of practical and digital effects.
Mad Max: Furiosa Can Finally Give Chris Hemsworth A Great Villain Role
The intensity of the fight scenes might not be the only reason to be excited about Hemsworth's new role. Having spent the majority of his career playing handsome heroes, Furiosa presents the actor with the possibility of a great villain role. Hemsworth’s turn in the film could help cement him as a villainous mainstay in dystopian, sci-fi, or even grindhouse films and provide a path away from being pigeonholed. Hemsworth wouldn’t be the first actor to successfully escape their typecasting. Robert Patterson distanced himself from Twilight and carved out a niche in arthouse films like The Lighthouse. Similarly, Daniel Radcliffe abandoned Harry Potter with absurd films like Swiss Army Man and biopics like Weird: The Al Yankovic Story. Hemsworth has already shown his ability to play unsettling villains in his performance as Steve in Netflix's Spiderhead, a potential villain role in the Mad Max prequel gives the actor a chance to confirm his versatility.
The moral ambiguity of the post-apocalyptic wasteland might also be a refreshing environment for Hemsworth, who is used to the relatively simple good-versus-evil multiverse of the MCU. Some of the greatest villains in film and television history, including Bryan Cranston's iconic Walter White in Breaking Bad, emerge in morally ambiguous settings. Furthermore, given the future that comes to pass in Mad Max: Fury Road, the prequel may also feature a memorable death scene for Hemsworth. Iconic death scenes have a way of staying with audiences and perhaps Hemsworth can add a significant feather to his cap by emulating Sean Bean's stellar reputation for death scenes.
Hemsworth’s new role in Furiosa will likely lead to some grittier, bloodier, tenser, and more morally fraught action than audiences have seen from him in his decade-long appearance as Thor. Fans will be particularly intrigued by the possibility of callbacks to the 2015 game, and the potential reprisal of its brutal villain. Though his character’s fate may be different, the chance to see Hemsworth appear as a roving warlord facing off against rival gas-guzzling marauders will be a refreshing change of pace for the actor.